Chapter 124

By the time Im Yeon was grabbed by the throat by Ak Mu-jin, I had finally finished all my preparations.

‘This can’t drag on.’

The principle of Insect Courage.
With the resolve that if I didn’t kill him, I would die, I dove into Ak Mu-jin’s reach.

‘Below the right shoulder blade.’

I drove my palm heel in deep.
Thud!
The first strike pierced the weak point exactly.
Ak Mu-jin staggered back a few steps and dropped Im Yeon.

“You held out well.”

I tossed that one line to Im Yeon and ran again.
Ak Mu-jin swung his arm, but I used Whirlwind Sweeping Leaf Step and dodged by the width of a sheet of paper.

‘End of the left ribs.’

I slipped in from the side and threw a punch.
Thwack!
The moment I felt the heavy impact, the blackened whites of Ak Mu-jin’s eyes flickered.
Whoong, I lowered my waist and dodged the fist that shot through the air. A gust passed over my head.

At the same time, I struck the left side of Ak Mu-jin’s thigh with the top of my right foot.
I hadn’t even hit his abdomen, yet black vapor spilled from Ak Mu-jin’s mouth.
I immediately used Soul-Extinguishing Flash Step and slipped behind his back.
Turning half a circle, I slammed my elbow into his cervical spine.
Thud!
Perhaps because I had struck a place that was both a weak point and a vital area.
Black smoke began to rise from Ak Mu-jin’s body, which had gone rigid for an instant.

‘It’s working.’

I was sure of it inwardly.
Even with just four strikes, the reaction was greater than I had expected.
Weak points are the weakness of external martial arts.
If I strike them, the reinforced body weakens, and the energy of the Defeated-Spirit Paste tries to compensate for it.
If I kept striking until all that energy was used up, this would be over.

‘Not a single mistake.’

Thud!
Fifth.
Thud!
Sixth.
Seven, eight, nine, ten.

I drew up all the Perfect Demonic Qi and Chaotic Demonic Qi I could and battered Ak Mu-jin’s weak points.
He wasn’t just standing there taking it, so bruises formed on my body and blood ran from it.
I felt the pain, but ignored it and focused only on attacking.

The whites of his eyes were gradually returning.
His reaction speed was slowing.
I sensed that the final moment wasn’t far off.

‘One inch above the dantian. Half an inch to the right of the solar plexus!’

Several more strikes followed.
At that moment when it seemed like it would end but didn’t, black saliva dripped from Ak Mu-jin’s mouth.

“Enough already, let’s finish this!”

Craaack!
I poured in all my strength and internal energy and struck his heart.

“Kuhhhhugh!”

Ak Mu-jin, who hadn’t let out even a single groan until now, screamed.
His entire body convulsed, and his skin split apart as if an earthquake had struck. Black liquid poured out from the cracks like a waterfall.
Chiiiiik-
The liquid evaporated at once, turning into a massive amount of steam that spread everywhere.

‘What now?’

I quickly backed away.
Ung Gyo, normally taciturn but second to none in loyalty to his leader, hurriedly tried to approach.

“Unit Leader!”
“Don’t get close!”

I raised a hand and stopped him.

“But, Young Lord!”
“For now, all we can do is wait.”

We couldn’t recklessly approach when we had no idea what effect that steam might have.
The plan had no flaws.
And I had carried it out almost perfectly, so now it was time to wait for the result.

“Ggh! Guaaaaargh!”

Ak Mu-jin’s body flopped like a freshly caught fish.
The steam pouring out of him increased explosively too.

‘…That’s way too much.’

A sliver of doubt crept into my judgment.
Is this right?
What if I got it wrong?
Or did I hit the wrong weak point?
But before long, the situation changed.

Shiiiiik-
The steam formed a huge vortex and began getting sucked back into Ak Mu-jin’s body.
Ung Gyo asked in shock.

“W-What is that?”
“How……”

I cut myself off midway.
Because I had almost blurted out, How would I know?

‘Why is the stuff that just came out going back in?’

I narrowed my senses and examined Ak Mu-jin’s condition, but I could no longer see inside him.
Before long, all the steam had been drawn back in.
Ak Mu-jin’s skin kept changing wildly from pale to blue to black.
Just when I had no idea what in the world was happening.
Sticky mucus resembling the Defeated-Spirit Paste oozed from the split skin.

“Urgh!”
“What is this!”

A stench far beyond anything from before spread out.
Even Im Yeon, who had almost been choked to death just moments ago, instinctively clamped her nose shut, along with the Longevity Ten.
Even so, the stench’s ability to penetrate was terrifying.
Still, fortunately, Ak Mu-jin’s skin was gradually returning to its original color. The split flesh was slowly healing too.
And then, at that moment.

“U-ugh……”

Ak Mu-jin regained consciousness.
Ung Gyo asked while pinching his nose shut.

“Udid Deader! Ad you oud of id?”
Was he asking if he had come to his senses?
Ak Mu-jin muttered with a dazed expression.

“W-What in the world happened…?”

I asked too.

“Do you remember anything?”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m asking if you don’t remember.”

I had no choice but to take my hand off my nose and say it.
At that, Ak Mu-jin shook his head.

“I don’t remember anything from right after I applied the Defeated-Spirit Paste. But I feel as if I’ve been reborn.”
“That’s good. Our sense of smell is dying every second over here.”
“……?”
“Let’s move first.”

Talking in a place covered in that much slime didn’t seem like the smartest choice.
As far as I could tell, that was the true source of the stench.
The slime had soaked into Ak Mu-jin’s clothes too, so I added a few more words to him.

“Could you take your clothes off too? No, let’s just tear them to pieces and burn them so they never appear in this world again.”
“…My clothes, you mean?”
“At least the upper part for now.”
“Ah. All right.”

Ak Mu-jin took off his upper garment and stood up easily without even staggering. He looked like someone to whom nothing had happened.
No, not just nothing, he looked lighter than before, as if he had gone through a complete rebirth.

We moved to a place where the wind blew coolly.
Im Yeon followed with support, and red marks from Ak Mu-jin’s fingers were still left on her neck.

“Why is Guard Im’s neck like that?”
“Ah, well, I ran into a vicious villain……”

Im Yeon answered in a hoarse voice.
Ak Mu-jin tilted his head.

“Hmm.”

I studied Ak Mu-jin carefully.
Something had changed.
What I felt most strongly was.

“The smell is weaker, isn’t it?”
“The corpse stench definitely seems much weaker.”

Not only Im Yeon, but the Longevity Ten all agreed it seemed that way.
The corpse stench was still there, but it was much better than before.

“How… how did this happen?”

Ak Mu-jin looked down at his own body in bewilderment.

“At this level, you can probably go where people live now.”

I said with a smile,

“My master said so. He said the Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art starts to lessen the corpse stench from the Seventh Stage onward.”
“Then my Corpse-Body Reinforcement Art…?”
“That’s right. It seems you’ve reached the Seventh Stage.”

Ak Mu-jin closed his eyes.
It seemed he was carefully examining the changes within himself.
A moment later, Ak Mu-jin opened his eyes.
He spoke in a voice thick with emotion.

“You were right, Young Lord. I really have reached the Seventh Stage!”

He bowed deeply and gave a fist-clasp salute.

“It is all thanks to Young Lord’s grace as vast as the sea!”

Ung Gyo also gave the same fist-clasp salute as Ak Mu-jin.

“If it hadn’t been for you, Young Lord, not only our Unit Leader but all of us would not be standing here now. We would have lived foolish lives in the minor quarters and died there. The only way to repay this grace is to share life and death with you. We, the Longevity Ten, will remain at your side to the end.”
“Stop saying useless things about grace and all that.”

I said it in a deliberately harsh tone.
Ak Mu-jin and the Longevity Ten shut their mouths, looking embarrassed. It was as if I had poured cold water over them.
I grinned and continued.

“What I mean is, show it with actions, not words.”
“Huh.”
“Ah, that’s what you meant? Haha. Gladly!”

Ak Mu-jin slapped his own body hard.
The sound that rang out wasn’t that of flesh, but something like metal striking metal.

“Now it feels as though nothing could wound me, no matter what attacks me!”
“Do you think you could beat the Elder Council Lord too?”
“Of course!”

Ak Mu-jin’s eyes flashed.
Yes, this was exactly what I wanted from him.
He was quiet for now, but before long, the Elder Council Lord would try to bite at me again. He couldn’t cast off that vile nature of his.
And when that time came, it would be the Elder Council Lord’s end.

‘That makes all the trouble worth it.’

I fought one battle at the Golden Resonance Vault, then fought Ak Mu-jin all over again.
It was lucky that I had circulated my qi in advance just in case. If I hadn’t, it could have turned into a disaster.
How to survive with True Blood Severed Meridians.
It was to keep diligently circulating and regulating my qi!

“Let’s go back to Hidden Cloud Pavilion now. Unit Leader Ak, you’re coming too, right?”
“I’ll come down after a few days. I want to test just how much stronger this body has become. For today, please just take that injured fellow with you.”
“All right.”

I nodded and, together with the guards, took charge of the Longevity Ten whose ankle had broken.
As we went down the mountain path, I looked at Im Yeon.
Before I knew it, she had stopped accepting support and was walking on her own.

“How are you feeling?”
“Ah, I’m completely fine, Young Lord.”
“You don’t seem completely fine to me. Anyway, you did well. It would have been difficult without you, Guard Im.”
“Was I of help to you, Young Lord?”
“Of course. You bought me time well.”

A small smile formed on Im Yeon’s lips.
She looked very proud.

“By the way, it looked like you had learned an incredible sword art.”

A question asked as if it meant nothing.
The corners of Im Yeon’s smiling mouth stiffened at once.

The sword art Im Yeon used at the end was a superior art.
True to a Demon Cult sword art, it was vicious, yet carried tremendous power and precision.
Even estimated conservatively, it was on a level similar to sword arts permitted only to the direct lines of the Seven Demonic Houses.
Who had taught Im Yeon this sword art that even I had never seen before?

“Ah, th-that is……”

Im Yeon stammered in panic.
It seemed difficult for her to talk about that sword art.
Naturally, one person came to mind.
When she had fallen into a hallucination in the Ice-Soul Demonic Realm, she had mentioned two things. Her grandfather and the Heaven Rebelling Society.
Perhaps that grandfather was the one who passed it on to her.

‘Grandfather, a sword art, and the Heaven Rebelling Society.’

Somehow, the things I needed to know about Im Yeon kept increasing.
Not wanting to pry into something troublesome for no reason, I ended the subject with a joke.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to teach it to me.”
“Yes, hahaha……”

Im Yeon laughed awkwardly.
She looked relieved.

“Guard Im, your sword broke, didn’t it?”
“Yes. I’ll prepare a new sword as soon as we return.”
“Wasn’t it a sword with special meaning? You always treated it carefully.”
“It was……”
“Then leave it to me. The blade can’t be helped, but we can at least save the hilt.”
“What? How?”
“I’ll ask Sajeo. There are plenty of excellent smiths at the Iron-Soul Workshop.”
“…Thank you for thinking of it, Young Lord.”
“You don’t need to thank me.”

It was something Im Yeon deserved.

“You all worked hard. Let’s head back now.”

After coming down the mountain, we got into the carriage and headed for Hidden Cloud Pavilion.
Maybe because I had solved Ak Mu-jin’s problem after Im Yeon’s, I felt extremely refreshed.
No, slightly less refreshed.

‘Where the hell is Hwang Seung-jong hiding?’

He isn’t sprawled out in some tavern again, is he?

‘…Should I just stop caring?’

He was the kind of bastard who would crawl back on his own when the time came anyway.
Let’s put these tiring thoughts aside.
At least for today.

“Ughhh.”

The next morning.
I groaned as I woke from bed. My whole body ached.
‘Maybe I should’ve stopped by Ink-Needle Hall yesterday.’

I had refused Im Yeon’s suggestion and told only her and the Longevity Ten to go to Ink-Needle Hall.
I already had medicine on hand, so I had meant to treat myself roughly with that.
Because I hadn’t been in mortal danger, and I hadn’t suffered any severe injuries.
But for some reason, unlike before, my recovery was slower this time.

‘Normally this much would’ve healed quickly. Has the medicine stopped working?’

I got ready quickly and climbed into the carriage.
I was on my way to train with the Heavenly Demon.
A sigh escaped on its own.
It seemed there was no escaping this damned training unless I died.

As always, the Heavenly Demon was waiting for me at the training ground on Demon Awakening Peak.
His gaze swept over my body once.
His expression looked vaguely displeased, so I asked outright.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re looking at a pathetic disciple.”
“So you know.”

“……”

For a moment, I was almost left speechless.
I had only said it casually, but he really was thinking that?

“Even so, this was a decent result, wasn’t it? You know what happened, don’t you? Since you would’ve been briefed.”

Of course, none of it would have been possible if the Heavenly Demon hadn’t taught me various things.
Still, I had achieved every goal I set, so shouldn’t that count for something?

The Heavenly Demon answered without emotion.

“I was briefed. I heard that you were pierced in several places by Cheong-won’s hidden weapons, and that you were beaten by your subordinate until your body was covered in bruises.”
“Well, that’s not exactly wrong, but it’s a pretty malicious summary.”
“It’s hard to call it malicious when the state of your body seems to be a wreck.”
“It is a wreck, but that’s just because the medicine didn’t work especially well this time. Normally I would’ve recovered by now.”

The Heavenly Demon looked down at me in silence, then spoke.

“Do you know what your problem is?”
“I know what you’re going to say, Master.”
“What is it?”

I stiffened my face into a blank expression and spoke in a low, cold voice. I was imitating the Heavenly Demon.

“‘Your problem is that you are weak.’ That’s what you were going to say, right?”
“You’re wrong.”
“I’m wrong? Then what is it?”
“That you are ‘seriously’ weak.”
“Wow, so you’re really going with that?”

The Heavenly Demon lightly ignored what I said.
And the moment I heard what he said next, I erased everything I had been saying from my mind.

“Starting today, I’ll cut your physical conditioning in half and teach you martial arts.”
“!”

‘Already?’

I doubted my ears.
In my previous life, the point when the Heavenly Demon truly began passing on martial arts to me was much later.
I had done various things up to now, but I thought I’d be ground down for at least another half year before properly learning martial arts.

“I will make you weak in a short amount of time.”

‘Weak?’

I started to feel puzzled, then cold sweat suddenly ran down my back.
To turn me, who was seriously weak, into merely weak.
That meant he was going to grind me to the brink of death.